December 2017

December was busy until the last week, when things suddenly slowed down for the holidays.  This was a good year for Christmas-related activities.  We attended several parties and shows, Kylen went caroling and started a little ministry handing out candy canes and tracts.  He also volunteered in concessions at a local theater and went to a Christmas dance and a couple of teen writer's events.  Greg had basketball Tuesdays, and Kylen had voice lessons Fridays.  Between the three of us, we saw four movies (two free from a rewards program), which is unheard of.  Usually, we see one movie every several months.  Our favorites were Justice League and Star Wars.

Christmas party #1 at a friend's house.  Kylen and his partner won the Christmas trivia game!  Their prize was festive antlers.  :)

Christmas party #2.  Technically, a game night.  I played Telestrations for the first time and was impressed with one of the drawings by a talented teenager.

Let this be known: my son seriously does not need to wear socks with holes.  He just doesn't tell me when he needs new ones!  Greg said when he was a kid this was called new crop potatoes.  Lol.

Christmas party #3.  An annual event at our co-op.  I helped make the yarn ball decorations.  :)

We ordered Christmas cards from simplytoimpress and were quite impressed!  A little more expensive than most but better quality.

I saw this picture in a magazine by Ken Orvidas and absolutely loved it, but I wasn't able to find a title or a way to order a print.  My picture of it is a little washed out, but you get the idea.  I love the happy colors!

We saw a couple friends' basketball games.

One of the shows we saw, Elf Jr., with several friends in the cast.  They did fantastic!

Kylen was inspired to write his own tract.  We added stickers, put them in plastic sleeves with a candy cane, punched a hole in each bag, and attached a rubber band.  A couple of families helped place them on doorknobs one afternoon.  Kylen got the idea shortly before Christmas, so we had to scramble to get them printed and prepped, but we were happy with how it went.  He'd like to do it again next year.

We enjoyed a Christmasy meal at the CDA resort.  I love, love, love their salad bar.  They have the best Caesar dressing.

I received an awesome belated birthday package from my cousin (belated is tradition!).  :)

A friend of Kylen's published his first book!  We went to his book launch party at a library and heard him speak about self-publishing.  We haven't had a chance to read it yet but will soon!

In recent years, we've made fudge for our holiday indulgence.  This time we made haystacks.  I grew up having them at Grandma's and my parents' house.  Definitely nostalgic, definitely yummy.

We had friends over for fellowship and a Christmas gift exchange.  They also gave us a great anniversary gift!

My first set of tiles in a Scrabble game.  Too bad proper nouns aren't allowed!

I posted about Christmas here.

After Christmas, we went to see Star Wars.  Greg and Kylen waited in line while I browsed shops.

The last week of December we mostly hung out at home and played Zelda.  We were going to have friends over New Year's Eve and meet family New Year's Day, but Kylen got sick.  So the year went out without a bang.  2018 should be eventful with Kylen graduating.  Our lives will change drastically, but we look forward to seeing what God has next.  :)

November 2017

November was a fairly busy month with a large variety of activities, especially for Kylen.  His schedule included playing a lead role in a reader's theater, a game night, seeing several shows, outings related to volunteering at the local theater, rehearsing a skit for our co-op's Christmas party, teen writer's gatherings, voice lessons, and basketball.  Co-op ended for the holidays, giving us our Mondays back.

We received a bout of heavy snowfall unusually early.

Greg and Kylen were given tickets to a Gonzaga men's basketball game - in a suite!

A local gal, who taught art classes in our city for over a decade, retired.  We went to visit her, and it sure did bring back memories!  Kylen and I both took classes when he was in grade school.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Greg's parents at a restaurant.  My favorite was the soup.  It was amazing!!

The restaurant was in a hotel.  We liked the cute chalk drawings in their computer area.

The day after Thanksgiving, we had a wonderful dinner at a friend's house.  :)

A member of our co-op hosted a crafting get-together to make decorations for our co-op's Christmas party.  I thought that was a fantastic idea!  It went really well, and I learned how to make glittery yarn balls.

Well, on to December!

October 2017

October boils down to three biggies: senior pictures, school, and Willy Wonka shows.  On the college front, Kylen filled out his first scholarship application and started his first college class.  He's taking a dual enrollment English course through Liberty University online.  It's worth a half high school credit.  If all goes well, he'll take a second English course before summer.

When we did senior pictures, we also got a family picture for our Christmas cards.  :)

And that was October!

September 2017

September had some fun highlights, a lot of school, and a whole lotta Willy Wonka rehearsals!

We were invited to an elaborate Old West mystery party.  Kylen was the sheriff, and Greg was a stagecoach driver!

Kylen came up with this idea, took a pic after mowing, and added a caption.

We attended a high school graduation for an awesome dude.

We were planning to skip Silverwood this year, but a very nice gal blessed us with free tickets on the last day.  And it just so happened to be a beautiful day.

The soup was AMAZING.  Some of the tastiest soup I've had.

Kylen talking to my brother.  We were able to get an extra ticket for him to join us!

We got in an old time photo shoot.

I'm in red, my brother's on one side, and Kylen's on the other.  :)

August 2017

August started on a sad note.  Two more young deaths occurred in my family, second cousins of mine.  The brothers, ages 11 and 17, drowned in a river.  Many hearts were touched by the tragedy.  I spent a lot of time praying for their family, and we hosted relatives who traveled to attend the funeral.

Yellow balloons were released in memory of the youngest.  They shared a story about how he had commented they must be having a party underground whenever he saw balloons in the cemetery as they drove past.

We will continue to pray for the grieving loved ones they left behind.

A week and a half later, Kylen took hunter's ed as part of occupational education.

It was a long week, but I think he's glad he did it.  We celebrated completion of the class by taking him out for dinner.  I posted more pictures here.

The solar eclipse was a big event!  We wanted to drive to where we could see it at 100%, but Greg couldn't spare the vacation time.  Plus, we were going on a long drive just a week later for a wedding reception.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of getting stuck in traffic if a lot of other folks had the same idea.  In the end, we watched it from our driveway.  90% eclipsed wasn't as cool as the real deal, but Greg was super excited.  I enjoyed it, and Kylen thought it was neat but couldn't understand the fuss.  Lol.  He's never been a science fan.

Here's a picture Greg got through the solar glasses.

It darkened quite a bit, although it didn't get dark enough to see stars.  The lighting was eerie, like just before a huge storm.  Here's a before and after pic on the porch.

Probably the most dramatic change was the temperature drop.  It went from feeling comfortable to downright chilly!

You can see our neighbors watched from their driveway too.  After it was over, Greg rushed off to work.  I hope someday we get to see one at 100%, but if not . . . it won't compare to the glories of heaven!

The full post about our quick trip to Montana is here.  Pictured below: my cousin Melody with her brother and new sister-in-law.

We had such a nice time hanging out with family the next day, we were reluctant to come home!

That was August, a mixed month of sad times and happy times.  Oh!  I almost forgot!  Kylen got cast as Willy Wonka!!  Performances will be in mid-October.  We can't wait!